


Stress

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, protective!Juggie, stressed!Betty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-03 00:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10231724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: Jughead is worried about Betty. She has been driving herself crazy trying to figure out what happened to Jason Blossom and Jughead is afraid that she is spreading herself too thin, not sleeping, and stressing herself out.He is determined to do what he can to force Betty to get some well needed sleep.





	1. Chapter 1

“Betty?” Jughead called out as he entered the Blue and Gold office. A wave of relief washed over him when he saw the girl seated at one of the computers.

“Juggie!” Betty smiled happily at him.

“What are you doing?” He questioned, coming over to sit next to her. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before responding.

“I’m trying to figure out why my dad would’ve stolen the Sheriff’s murder board. I believe that he didn’t murder Jason, but maybe he had something to do with it…there has to be something in what the Sheriff had to implicate him.”

“Betty, we’ve gone through everything ten times over.” Jughead said gently.

“I know…wait, what are you doing here? I thought you were jamming with Archie after school?” Betty asked, Jughead winced at her question.

“I did…it’s 7 at night Betts” Jughead looked her over with concern, she looked exhausted and stressed. He was afraid that she was putting too much of herself into solving this mystery.

“What? Really? I must’ve lost track of time.” Betty ran her hands across her head, smoothing the already smooth hair. “Wait, we were supposed to meet at Pop’s at 6. Why didn’t you call me?”

“I did” Jughead reached over to where her phone was flipped over on the table next to her. He pressed the button to show the multiple missed calls and messages from him. “I’ve spent the last half an hour looking for you.”

“I’m sorry Jug, I was so just focused…”

“Betty,” Jughead reached over and took her hands in his. “I know you want to find out what happened, and I promise we will, but I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine Jughead, I just need to figure out what happened.”

“I know, but you need to take care of yourself. You were here when I got here this morning, and now 12 hours later you are still here. How many hours of sleep did you get last night?”

“It doesn’t matter, I have to figure this out for Polly and her baby. I won’t let my niece or nephew be born into a world where their father’s killer is still at large.”

“Betty, I know you want to help, but at the end of the day it’s not your job to catch a killer.” Jughead said. Betty pulled her hands out of his and stood up.

“Don’t you dare tell me that the police have it handled. Sheriff Keller is clearly out of ideas and grasping at straws. You of all people know that. I mean the fact that he thought it could be you…we can’t leave it up to the police Jughead.” Betty’s hands were at fists by her side and she was practically shaking with anger. Jughead knew that most of her anger was on his behalf and he felt a swell of affection for Betty. This sweet, caring girl had been ready to move heaven and earth to get him out of police custody. Betty Cooper didn’t often get angry, but when she did, she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Betts, I know you are upset that Sheriff Keller accused me, but he’s just exploring all possible options.”

“How are you not angry about this?” Betty shook her head in frustration. Jughead stood up and walked over to her. He uncurled her hands and threaded their fingers together.

“Because, unlike you, I don’t expect the best out of people. I know how people in this town look at me and my family, I have no illusions about that.”

“I hate that” Betty said with a sigh and leaned her forehead against his. Jughead closed his eyes and enjoyed the closeness of her, breathing in her sweet scent.

“I know you do, because you have a sense of justice a mile wide.” Jughead said with a soft chuckle.

“Yes, and that’s why I can’t just leave this be. I have to figure it all out Juggie.”

“I know Betts” Jughead pulled away with a sigh. “Just promise me, you’ll take care of yourself too”

“Of course.” Betty said with a small smile and leaned up to kiss him. Jughead wasn’t convinced, but he was quickly distracted by the taste of her lips against his.

"Come on" Jughead said, grabbing her backpack and shoving her folders and papers into it. "Let's get you home"

*****

“Thank you for walking me home, you are so sweet for always doing that.” Betty squeezed Jughead’s hand. The boy gave her a small smile.

“Well, I’m actually sleeping at Archie’s tonight, so it’s not that much out of my way.” Jughead looked purposefully over to the house next door.

“Are things with your dad still bad?” Betty asked in concern.

“Yeah, I can’t get him to stop drinking…and I’d rather not be around that” Jughead bit his lip and looked away. Betty cupped his face and kissed him, choosing to show her support and understanding in that way because she knew any words would sound empty.

“Wanna come over for breakfast tomorrow?” Betty asked when they broke apart, already knowing what the answer would be.

“Hell no, that was a one time only thing. I can’t deal with another uncomfortable Alice Cooper shake down. How about you come over to Archie’s?”

“I can’t” Betty shook her head “my mom insists I eat a good breakfast in the morning to ‘start the day right’” Betty rolled her eyes. “But I’ll stop by and you can walk me to school.

“Sounds like a plan. Please get some sleep.” Jughead caressed her cheek. Betty put her hand over his and leaned into his touch.

“I will” She promised. She had a bit of homework and then she planned to go to bed early. She hadn’t wanted to tell Jughead, but she had barely gotten 3 hours of sleep last night. She had been too preoccupied with her thoughts to fall asleep. Betty gave Jughead another kiss and headed inside.

*****

“Betty?” She woke up to the sound of her sister’s voice. Sitting up quickly, Betty could just make out the silhouette of Polly. Turning on her bed side light, Betty saw that her sister had tears streaming down her face.

“Polly, what’s wrong?” She asked in alarm “Did something happen at the Lodge’s?”

“No” Polly shook her head “I just…I had this horrible nightmare about…about Jason and the baby and I woke up and I couldn’t breathe or think, I just knew I needed to see you.”

“Oh Polly.” Betty gathered her sister into her arms, realizing that she had probably had a panic attack. “I’m so sorry you are going through all of this, but you are safe, and your baby is safe. I promise.”

“Thank you Betty” Polly buried her head in Betty’s shoulder and held onto her tight. Betty’s heart broke for her sister who had gone through so much and still had so much ahead of her. She knew how terrified Polly must feel.

“Hey, can I walk you back to the Lodge’s?” Betty asked after they had stayed like that for a while.

“Can we just hang out for a little while? We haven’t gotten a lot of time to talk and catch up.” Polly begged. Betty could tell that she didn’t want to leave her yet. Betty glanced at the clock, which read 3am. Her body screamed for sleep, but she couldn’t leave her sister in her time of need.

“What do you want to talk about?” She asked.

“Well how about you tell me what is going on with Jughead Jones?”

“What?” Betty blinked in surprise

“Don’t think I’ve been too caught up to notice those looks you two keep giving each other.” Polly poked Betty in the nose. Betty laughed, it reminded her of how things used to be with her and Polly.

“Well…” She grinned and proceeded to tell her sister all about the incredible boy she had fallen for.


	2. Chapter 2

“She’s here” Archie called out to Jughead, who was sitting in the kitchen. Jughead grabbed his bag and met his friend at the door. His heart dropped when he took a good look at Betty. She had dark circles under her eyes and a fake smile plastered on her face.

“Betts…” He started but Betty interrupted him.

“Ready to go?” She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. Archie fell into step next to him and they boys exchanged a worried look.

“Betty, did I dream it, or was your light on at 4am when I got up to go the bathroom?” Archie asked. Jughead looked at Betty in shock.

“What?” He demanded

“It’s no big deal. Polly had a nightmare and panic attack and came over last night. I comforted her and we talked for a while, then I took her back to the Lodge’s. I didn’t have a choice” Betty directed the last sentence at Jughead. Giving him a look that begged for him to understand and not fight her on it.

“She’s lucky to have you” Jughead said, deciding not to push the subject, at least not at the moment. But he was going to force her to take a nap in the lounge during lunch.

*****

Jughead watched Betty nervously for the first half of the day. He hated the distant look in her eyes and the way she seemed to be not focusing on anything that was happening around her. So as soon as they got out of science he took her hand and practically dragged her to the student lounge.

“Juggie, what are we doing here?” Betty asked confused. Jughead pulled both of them down onto the couch.

“You are going to sleep because you are dead on your feet.” Jughead said bluntly.

“But…”

“Nope, no arguing. I will wake you up when the period is over.” Jughead interrupted her.

“Okay” Betty nodded and lay down with her head in Jughead’s lap. His hand immediately moved to run across her smooth hair. Betty closed her eyes with a sigh and sank further against him.

They hadn’t been there five minutes when the door banged open and Veronica Lodge stormed in. Betty’s eyes flew open and she sat up immediately, looking at her friend in concern.

“Betty Cooper, I can’t believe you.”

“What happened Ronnie?” Betty said rubbing her eyes.

“My mom just found out from Polly that she visited you last night and that you walked her home.” Veronica said with her hands on her hips.

“Yes, she had a nightmare” Betty clearly was confused as to why Veronica was being so hostile

“Betty, I’m not mad that Polly came to you or that you walked her home. I am mad that you walked back alone and didn’t tell me or my mother.” Veronica’s expression softened and she came to sit in the chair next to them.

“It was like 6am, I didn’t want to wake you” Betty said.

“Betty, next time I don’t care what time it is. You wake me up. It is too dangerous out there for you to be wandering alone.” Veronica said, starting to work herself up again.

“Veronica” Jughead finally cut it before she could go off on another rant. “I agree with you, but how about you lay off okay. Can’t you see she’s exhausted.” Jughead gestured to Betty and Veronica looked at her intently. She deflated when she really looked at her friend.

“I’m sorry B”

“It’s okay, really.” Betty looked from Veronica to Jughead. “I promise I’ll be safer next time.”

“You better” The three looked up to see Cheryl standing there, eyes shooting daggers at Betty. “So we are just letting Polly wander around whenever she wants?” Cheryl asked. Betty sighed and leaned her shoulder against Jughead. He put his arm around her for support.

“Cheryl, it’s not Betty’s fault” Veronica defended her.

“Well, not just her fault anyways.” Cheryl’s gaze shifted to Veronica. “You and your mother let a possibly mentally ill girl who is carrying my brother’s baby leave your apartment in the middle of the night when there is a killer on the loose. And you,” Cheryl looked back at Betty, “so you walked her home, you really think either of you two is a match for someone with a gun who could get the jump on Jason?”

“Cheryl” Betty stood up and put her hand on Cheryl’s arm, “I know you are scared. I will talk to Polly and let her know that she can’t do something like that again. She had a panic attack and didn’t know where else to go. It’s not Veronica or her mom’s fault. Polly has always been good at sneaking out. And I had to take her back to the Lodge’s, I couldn’t let our parents find her at our house. They would never let her leave again.”

“Okay” Cheryl said with a sigh, appearing to calm down. Jughead marveled at the effect that Betty had on people. Even when she was drained both mentally and physically, she still managed to be able to comfort those around her. “Just make sure Polly knows that she can’t do something like that again.”

“I’ll go talk to her after school” Betty said with a nod. Jughead wanted to protest, wanting Betty to go straight to bed, but he knew there was no point. Betty would always put other’s first.

“I’ll come with you” Jughead said instead of arguing.

“Thanks Juggie” She turned back to give him a smile. The bell rang and Jughead sighed in frustration. He stood up and walked over to Betty, putting his arm around her.

“We will go talk to your sister, and then I am taking you home and forcing you to sleep.”

“No argument here” Betty leaned against him heavily, like she was having trouble keeping herself up. Jughead had to push down the desire to pick her up and carry her all the way home right then and there.


	3. Chapter 3

“Polly?” Betty called as she entered the Lodge’s apartment. Her sister appeared and came over and gave her a big hug.

“Hi Betty” Polly pulled away and turned her attention to Jughead, giving him a knowing look. “And hello Jughead.” Jughead shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Betty rolled her eyes and said,

“The topic of you may have come up last night”

“Oh” Jughead flushed and Betty couldn’t help but think about how cute he was when he was embarrassed.

“And speaking of last night, Polly, I have to talk to you about that.” Betty walked over and sat on the couch, Polly and Jughead following her. “You can’t be wandering the streets alone at night. It’s not safe for you or the baby. If you ever need to really see me again, Veronica has given you permission to wake her up and she can bring you. We’ll employ the buddy system.”

“Okay Betty, but I don’t think I will risk coming home again.” Polly said biting her lip.

“What do you mean?”

“Mom found out that I was staying here. She apparently confronted Hermione about it. Hermione was fierce and stood her ground, but I can’t risk mom finding me at home.”

“Oh my god” Betty shook her head in disbelief. When had everything gotten so complicated and scary.

“Don’t worry Betty, I’m safe here. Hermione told Smithers to not allow mom into the building. She can’t to get to me here.”

“Okay” Betty forced herself to exhale, pushing down the momentary panic. “But if you have another nightmare, promise me you will wake up Ronnie? She’s a good friend and I know that she will be able to help you. She wouldn’t want you suffering alone.”

“Alright, I will” Polly promised. “I am sorry for keeping you up so late last night, I shouldn’t have done that, you look so tired.” Polly reached over and took Betty’s hand.

“Don’t worry, I’m forcing her to go to sleep after we finish up here.” Jughead said. Polly looked over at the boy relieved.

“Thank you for looking out for her Jughead.” Polly said with a smile. Betty looked between her sister and Jughead with a smile of her own. She was glad at least one member of her family accepted Jughead. Seeing Polly and Jughead getting along made her happy. “Alright, well I won’t keep you awake any longer.” Polly stood up, pulling Betty up with her. She wrapped her arms around Betty. “Thank you for being the best sister a girl could ask for.”

“Right back at you” Betty said. Polly released her and pulled Jughead into a hug. Jughead stiffened in surprise at first, but slowly relaxed and wrapped his arms around Polly.

“And thank you being such a good boyfriend to my sister.” Polly whispered, but Betty still heard it. When they pulled away, Jughead was smiling. Betty held out her hand and Jughead intertwined their fingers.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” He said. Betty sighed and let him guide her out the door. Her tiredness hit her like a brick wall as they walked. Each step took an incredible amount of effort. Jughead kept giving her concerned looks, but didn’t say anything as they walked. Finally they reached her house. Betty stopped suddenly, looking up at it.

“Juggie, I don’t…” She trailed off, thinking of how her mother was going to grill her about Polly as soon as she came home.

“Come on” Jughead apparently figured out Betty’s hesitation because he led her past her house and over to Archie’s. “Archie has football practice until late tonight, you can crash here for a while.” Betty let Jughead lead her through the Andrew’s house and up to Archie’s room. Jughead released her hand to go over to Archie’s bed and pull back the covers. Betty wandered over to his window and looked out. She could see into her room perfectly, with the pink walls and decor it looked like a welcoming place, so why did the sight of it cause her stomach to drop? “Betts?” Jughead asked from behind her. She turned to face him,

“I don’t even feel safe in my own bedroom Juggie…” She started, but cut off, looking at him with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t complain.”

“Betty, it’s okay” Jughead stepped close to her. “I know how it feels to not have a safe place to call your own. I know how it can mess with your head. I think it’s one of the reasons for why you aren’t sleeping.”

“Maybe, I just keep thinking that if my parents could do that to Polly, send her away like that and lie to her, maybe they could do the same thing to me.” Betty felt herself sway and Jughead reached up to grab her upper arms, steadying her.

“Whoa there, how about you get some sleep, then we can talk some more.” Jughead’s voice sounded as if it were far away. Betty tried to respond but suddenly the room was spinning. Betty thought she heard Jughead saying her name before everything went black.

*****

“Betty!” Jughead yelled in alarm as Betty’s eyes rolled back and she went limp. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up. Jughead carried her over to Archie’s bed and set her gently down, pulling the blankets over her. Betty stirred and her eyes flickered open, but she didn’t really seem to be able to focus on him. “Shh, it’s okay, sleep” Jughead cupped her face in his hands and stroked her cheeks. Her eyes closed again and within seconds her breathing grew heavy. Jughead sighed and kissed her forehead, trying to calm his frantically beating heart. Jughead pulled the blankets up further and tucked them in around her. Then he gently took out her ponytail. He didn’t know much about girl’s hair, but Betty’s tight ponytail didn’t look comfortable.

Jughead pulled a chair next to the bed and took Betty’s hand, wanting to be connected with her in some way. She had scared him more than he had ever been scared before. Even though he knew she was okay, just bone-tired, he couldn’t stop seeing her as she passed out.

He had known that she had been wiped out, but he hadn’t realized just how tried she had really been. She probably hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in weeks. Given what she said about her parents, he suspected that she had a hard time relaxing enough to sleep. Jughead looked over at the sleeping girl, who looked incredibly young, innocent, and peaceful.

Releasing her hand, Jughead went over to retrieve his laptop from his backpack. He knew that he could force Betty to take naps more often, but that would just be a bandaid. They only way to really put her at ease and help her would be to solve the mystery of Jason’s murder.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours later, Jughead was still searching for information on everyone in town and Betty was still asleep next to him. She hadn’t even stirred the entire time. Jughead heard the door open downstairs, indicating that Archie was home. He quickly rushed to meet his friend, reaching him before he could take a step upstairs.

“Shhh, Betty’s asleep upstairs.” Jughead whispered.

“What? Why’s she here, I thought you were going to take her home?” Archie asked. Jughead pulled his friend into the family room.

“I tried, but she didn’t want to go home. She doesn’t feel comfortable with her mom. Archie I don’t think she has slept a full night sleep in a while. She…” Jughead broke off with a shudder as he thought of Betty limp in his arms.

“What Jug?” Archie looked at him with unease.

“She passed out before I could get her to sleep. She was just standing there talking about her parents and then she started swaying and then she just...she just collapsed.” Jughead shuddered again. Archie put a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay Jughead, she’s okay, she just needs to sleep.”

“It was terrifying Arch” Jughead said with a sigh “She’s been deep asleep every since.”

“Well she can sleep here for as long as she wants.” Archie said

“What about her mom?”

“Maybe we can text saying that she is staying at Veronica’s?” Archie offered.

“That might work” Jughead said with a nod. “Come on, her phone’s upstairs.” The two boys quietly made their way to Archie’s bedroom. Jughead found Betty’s backpack and dug through it until he found her phone. He turned around to see Archie leaning over Betty, brushing the hair back from her face.

“Poor Betty” Archie whispered when he saw Jughead looking at him. “I’m glad she has you. The rest of us were too caught up in our own drama to really notice how spread thin she was. But you, even with everything you are going through, you noticed.”

“I always notice Betty” Jughead said simply. “Come on, I don’t want to wake her.”

The boys went back downstairs. Jughead texted Alice from Betty’s phone and Archie texted Veronica to tell her what was happening. Alice texted back immediately forbidding Betty from staying at the Lodge’s place, telling her that they needed to talk about Polly. Jughead responded saying that she would tell Alice everything tomorrow, but for tonight she was sleeping at Veronica’s. To Jughead’s relief Alice accepted this.

“Thank god” he said outloud.

“Is she okay with it?” Archie asked

“Yes, she doesn’t like it, but I think she realizes that she needs to cool it or she will end up losing both of her daughters.” Jughead answered. “Is Veronica good?”

“Yes, she’ll cover for Betty if Alice contacts them. She’s worried about Betty obviously, but glad that we are taking care of her.”

“Good, I’m going to go check on her.” Jughead said.

“Okay, I will call my dad and tell him what is happening.”

“Thanks Archie” Jughead was glad that he and Betty both had Archie to rely on.

“Hey, she’s my best friend, I’d do anything for her.” Archie clapped him on the shoulder. Jughead nodded and headed up the stairs. He was partly relieved and partly worried to see that Betty still hadn’t stirred. He was glad that she was finally getting a good sleep, but he couldn’t help but think about how sleep deprived she must be. He had told Archie that he always noticed Betty, but he apparently hadn’t been looking close enough. Betty was an expert at hiding her true feelings behind a smile, Jughead could usually see past that, but he had been so preoccupied recently that it had taken him longer than usual to see past her facade. And he hadn’t been able to do anything about it before she had literally passed out.

“Hey” Archie whispered from the doorway. “My dad’s good with Betty sleeping here for the night, although he wanted to make sure this is a one time thing. I assured him that it was. I said that Betty just fell asleep and has been so tired lately that we didn’t want to wake her up. He said in that case she could stay”

“Good, I’m glad your dad is cool with it.”

“I’ll sleep down on the couch, you can stay up here on the air mattress.”

“Don’t be silly, the air mattress is a lot more comfortable than that old sofa of yours” Jughead said with a scoff.

“Look, when she wakes up she’ll probably be confused, and I think we can both agree that yours is the face that she would rather see.”

“Are you sure?” Jughead felt bad for displacing Archie

“Absolutely, besides I can sleep anywhere” Archie joked

“Well, that part is true at least” Jughead said with a soft chuckle, thinking about all of the random places that Archie had fallen asleep over the years.

“Alright, how about we get some dinner and watch a movie or something?” Archie asked. That was their usual Friday night tradition, even before Jughead had started living with Archie.

“Sounds good to me.” Jughead said. He kissed Betty on the forehead and then followed his friend out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

_“What did you do Elizabeth?” Her mother was staring in horror. Betty looked down to see her hands stained red. She looked around frantically, her friends were all standing in a circle around her, looking at her with terrified faces._

_“Looks like she finally snapped” Cheryl said with a sneer_

_“I should’ve known after what she did to Chuck.” Veronica said_

_“I guess crazy does run in the family” Archie added_

_“I didn’t think she had this in her.” Kevin was looking at her with wide eyes. Betty kept spinning in a circle. Each of her friends adding their own comment. She tried to ask what had happened, she tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth._

_“Betty, how could you?” Polly had tears streaming down her face. Betty tried to get to her sister, but she suddenly couldn’t move. Then Jughead came and stood right in front of her. He was looking at her like he could barely stand the sight of her. The distaste was clear in his face. Jughead didn’t say anything to her. He just shook his head and turned his back on her and started walking away. Betty watched him go, trying to yell after him, every step was like a knife to her heart._

“Jughead!” Betty woke up with a yell. She was breathing heavily and sweating from her nightmare. Betty sat up, it was dark, but she could tell that she wasn’t in her room. Her breathing picked up even more as she tried to figure out why she wasn’t in her bed.

Suddenly, Jughead was there, gathering her into his arms and assuring her that it was okay. Betty held onto him tightly, breathing in the familiar scent of him and allowing it to calm her down.

“Shh, baby, it’s okay. It was just a nightmare. I’m here, you’re okay.” Jughead kept up a soft continuation of reassurances. His hands were smoothing across her hair and rubbing her back.

“Juggie” Betty melted into his embrace, her heart slowly stopped racing and her breathing evened out. “Where I am? What’s going on.”

“You’re at Archie’s” Jughead responded

“Am I still dreaming?” Betty asked, not sure why else she would be at Archie’s with Jughead.

“No” Jughead said with a soft laugh, he pulled away from her slightly to turn on the light. Betty looked around to see that she was indeed in Archie’s room. She looked at Jughead and found him looking at her with concern. His hair was sticking up in all directions and he was missing his usual beanie. Betty looked at the clock and saw it was 2am and realized that Jughead been sleeping.

“Jughead, why am I here?”

“You don’t remember?” Jughead furrowed his brow

“Umm” Betty searched back in her memory, “we went to see my sister and then I didn’t want to go home. So you brought me over to Archie’s to sleep.” Betty breathed a sigh of relief as all of the pieces fell into place. “I must’ve been so tired I don’t even remember falling asleep.” She said with a laugh, but stilled when she saw a dark look pass across Jughead’s face. “Juggie?” She reached up and smoothed his wrinkled brow.

“You don’t remember because you fainted…” Jughead said after a few moments.

“I did?” Betty asked

“Yes, in the middle of a conversation...god you scared me Betts.” Jughead cupped her face with a pained expression on his face.

“I’m sorry” Betty hated the look on his face and hated that she had put it there. She thought about how terrified she would be if Jughead passed out suddenly. She couldn’t even imagine.

“You don’t have to apologize, just promise me you’ll never do that again?” Jughead practically pleaded with her.

“I won’t” Betty promised immediately, she would do anything to make him stop looking at her like that.

“Good, we can talk more in the morning, but for now you should get some more sleep.” Jughead started to get off the bed but Betty frantically grabbed his arm and held tight. Jughead looked at her in concern. “What’s wrong Betty?”

“Please, don’t go.”

“I’m just going over there” He pointed at the air mattress on the floor, but Betty shook her head vehemently,

“Please stay” She asked, suddenly terrified to be alone.

“Okay” Jughead nodded, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

“Your nightmare” Jughead prodded

“No” Betty said firmly. “I just want to cuddle with you and go to sleep”

“I can support that” Jughead gave her a small grin, but his eyes were filled with worry. Jughead laid down on his back and Betty curled up at his side, her head on his chest. Jughead turned the light off and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Betty sighed in contentment and fell asleep to the sound of his heart.

*****

Betty woke up alone. It took a few seconds to remember where she was and why. She immediately missed Jughead’s presence, but when she looked at the clock, she realized why he was no longer with her. It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Betty was shocked that she had slept for so long. Normally, she wasn’t able to sleep past 10 in the morning. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she stood up, noticing that she was still in her sweater and jeans from yesterday.

Betty walked over and opened the drawer where she knew Jughead kept his clothes. She pulled out one of his “S” t-shirts and sweatpants and changed into them.

Running her hand through her hair, Betty made her way downstairs. She had no idea where her hairband went and she knew her hair was a tangled mess, but there was nothing she could do about it. Betty stopped in surprise at the bottom of the stairs. Jughead, Archie, Veronica, Kevin, and Polly were all sitting in the Andrew’s living room. They stopped talking and looked her as she entered the room. Jughead stood up and came over to her.

“Hey Sleeping Beauty” He said, giving her a small peck on the lips, “Nice clothes” He said in a whisper, giving her a wink. He took her hand and led her over to the couch.

“Hey guys” Betty said, looking around at her friends and her sister, “What’s going on?”

“An intervention, that’s what.” Veronica said

“What?” Betty looked around in confusion

“Betty, we want to make sure that you are taking care of yourself.” Polly said gently, “We want to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.” Betty suddenly had a flash of her nightmare, surrounded by her friends bombarding her. She knew that this time they were offering her support, but she still felt suffocated and overwhelmed.

“Hey” She felt a warm hand squeeze her shoulder. She turned to look into Jughead’s understanding eyes. “We aren’t judging you or criticizing you. We just want to let you know that we are all here for you.”

“We care about you.” Kevin added

“We’d do anything for you Betty, you can lean on us for support anytime.” Archie said.

“Thank you guys.” Betty’s eyes were filled with tears. She was still feeling overwhelmed, but now it was for different reasons. She was overwhelmed at the amount of support and love that she was feeling from her friends.

“But we can’t help you if you don’t ask B.” Veronica pointed out “So we need need you to trust us enough to tell what is going on with you.”

“Okay, I’ll promise if all of you promise to do the same. I’m tired of all of the secrets and lies in this town. The least we can do is keep those things out of group.” There was a chorus of ‘I promise’. Betty nodded her head in satisfaction.

“Okay, well how about I whip up some of Kevin’s famous nachos and we marathon The Office” Kevin suggested.

“Sounds good to me” Veronica replied

“You had me at Nachos” was Jughead’s response.

“Here, I’ll help you” Archie stood up and led Kevin into the kitchen. 

“Hey, can I talk to you?” Jughead asked Betty when they had left.

“Sure” Betty followed him back up to Archie’s room. Jughead shut the door behind them and sat down on the bed next to Betty. “What’s going on Juggie?”

“I just…” Jughead let out a heavy breath and looked at her with tormented eyes. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I didn’t notice what was going on with you. I was so caught up in my own thing that I didn’t see it…”

“Jughead don’t be ridiculous” Betty stared at him in shock. “You have been going through so much recently with your dad and finding a place to live.”

“Exactly, I’ve been so focused on my issues that I didn’t notice what was going on with you.”

“Yeah well I was so focused on finding Jason’s killer and what happened with my sister that I didn’t even realize you were homeless.” Betty said slightly bitterly. She hated that he had gone through all of that on his own.

“I didn’t want you to know.” Jughead said looking away from her.

“And I didn’t want you to know that I wasn’t sleeping because I was paranoid.” Betty replied.

“I guess we are both pretty good at hiding things.” Jughead admitted, looking back at her curiously.

“I meant what I said down there, about telling the truth. This isn’t going to work with us if we can’t be honest with each other. I think we have proven that we are strong together. So I need you to promise me that you will trust me enough to always tell the truth, no matter what. And I will promise to do the same.”

“I promise” Jughead said immediately.

“Good, I can’t have a boyfriend who isn’t honest with me.” Betty smiled as she said the word out loud for the first time, enjoying Jughead’s look of surprise and happiness upon hearing her say it.

“Well, then I guess I better start now.” Jughead sighed and took her hand. “Come on, there is something I have to tell everyone.


	6. Chapter 6

“Guys, before we start our marathon, I have to tell you something.” Jughead twisted his hands together nervously. “We promised to be honest, so here goes…” Betty put her hand over his and gave him a reassuring smile. “My dad’s...he’s a South Side Serpent…He joined them when he got fired.”

“Wait...so your dad got you kicked out of the drive-in?” Veronica asked in surprise.

“What?” Jughead asked in confusion. Veronica sighed and continued,

“My dad paid the Serpents to lower the value of the drive-in. My family is the anonymous buyer.”

“Jason got his drugs he was selling from the Serpents.” Polly added.

“Well...as long as we are confessing things about Serpents” Kevin said with a sigh. “I’m dating one. His name is Joaquin and I met him at the closing of the drive-in.” At Kevin’s admission Betty started laughing. They all turned to look at her in amusement.

“Wow, we are one messed up group.” Betty gasped, clutching her sides she was laughing so hard. Jughead couldn’t help but smile at her joy and the rest of the group joined in on her laughter. All of the stress in the room faded away to laughter.

“Alright, well now that we’ve got that all cleared up” Archie said when their giggles had faded, “How about some Office?”

“And nachos, I was promised nachos” Jughead said, looking at Kevin.

“And nachos you shall have. I’ll be right back” Kevin headed into the kitchen. Archie flipped the tv on and went to Nettflix. Betty scooted closer to Jughead who put his arm around her shoulders. Betty leaned her head against his chest and spoke quietly so that only he heard.

“I’m proud of you, telling everyone about your dad. I know that wasn’t easy.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe my dad was paid to lower the value of the drive-in. Just when I’d thought he’d run out of ways to disappoint me.” Jughead whispered back, his breath shifting the fine blond hairs on her head. Betty wrapped both of her arms around his torso and held him tightly.

“I’m sorry Juggie. It’s not fair that you were living at the drive-in and it’s not fair that your dad displaced you yet again.”

“Maybe in the end it’s all for the best. I’m happier here at Archie’s then I ever was at the booth, but I would’ve stayed there if my hand hadn’t been forced.”

“I don’t know how you did it” Betty said, and Jughead felt her shaking her head. “I don’t know how you dealt with it all on your own”

“I didn’t really deal with it, I just sort of ignored it and pretended everything was okay.”

“Well, I’m glad we aren’t doing that with each other anymore. Pretending and ignoring and keeping secrets.”

“Me too Betts” Jughead kissed the top of her head.

“Hey love birds, wanna shut up so we can hear what’s going on?” Veronica teased them

“Like you haven’t seen these episodes enough times to be able to quote them line for line.” Kevin teased her right back as he handed Jughead a bowl of nachos. Jughead took it with the hand that wasn’t wrapped around Betty and set it on the arm of the couch.

“Thanks, Kev. These always make my day.” Jughead dug into the nachos as the episode started and Betty sank further against him with a satisfied sigh.

*****

Not even ten minutes into the first episode, Jughead felt Betty’s head begin to slip down his chest. Looking down, he saw that she was once again asleep. With a smile, he gently lowered her head down so it was resting on his leg. His movement attracted the attention of his friends.

“Should I turn it off?” Archie asked, gesturing to the tv

“No, I doubt there is much that will wake her up.” Jughead said, running his hand through her soft hair. Polly stood up and took a blanket off of the back of the couch and lay it over Betty. She kissed her sister’s forehead and then kissed Jughead on the cheek. Jughead blinked in surprise and Polly smiled at him.

“You’re good to her” She said simply and returned to her seat. Everyone except Jughead turned back to the tv. He had seen this episode before and would much rather watch the beautiful sleeping girl in his lap. She looked so at peace in a way that he had not seen her look in a long time.

“Hey guys?” Jughead spoke up quietly

“What is it Jug?” Veronica asked

“Can we all promise to watch out for Betty?” Jughead whispered the words even though it was clear that Betty was dead to the world. “I mean look at her, she just slept for 20 hours straight and she’s still exhausted. We have to make sure that she’s taking care of herself because I don’t think she is going to do it on her own. Not until all of the mysteries are solved.”

“Of course we will Jughead.” Archie said immediately

“Jughead’s right, we have to watch out for her. When Betty gets stressed she doesn’t sleep, it’s something she has done all of her life” Polly spoke up.

“Has something like this happened before?” Kevin asked, watching the sleeping girl with a concerned look.

“Arch and Jug, do you guys remember when Betty got really sick in middle school?”

“Yeah, it was in seventh right?” Archie asked Jughead

“Yes. She was out of school for like two weeks.” Jughead remembered how worried he and Archie were and how Mrs. Cooper wouldn’t let them see Betty.

“That’s right. She failed a science test. And that sent her into a huge downward spiral. I didn’t find out this until later, but she was staying up late studying for science and redoing her homework over and over. She told me that she was barely getting three hours of sleep. Anyways, her lack of sleep weakened her body and she ended up coming down with a really bad case of the flu. I only found out what had caused it because the first day mom kept her home from school, I found her in her room hyperventilating. She told me what had been happening so I promised to get science notes from a friend and help her with her homework. Ever since then, when I notice she was getting stress I would try to help her and make sure that she was sleeping. God, I should’ve noticed what was happening.” Polly stood up and started pacing agitatedly, “I should’ve realized how this would all affect Betty. I even kept her awake myself one night, I’m just a selfish sister.”

“Hey, hey, none of that.” Veronica was up in a flash and brought Polly into her arms. “You have been dealing with a lot, it’s not your fault. Plus, I think our little Betty was trying hard to hide how stressed she really was.”

“Exactly why we need to watch out for her.” Jughead spoke up

“We will watch out for her Jug, along with all of the rest of us, because that’s what friends do. I know we are all dealing with our own crap, but we need to make sure that we are watching out for one another. Let this be a wake up call to us all.” Veronica spoke intensely and seriously

“Here here!” Kevin practically shouted, throwing his fist into the air.

“Shh Kev” Jughead admonished watching as Betty stirred, but the girl gave no indication of waking.

“Sorry” Kevin whispered.

“Alright, let’s get back to this episode now that we’ve missed most of it.” The words were barely out of Archie’s mouth when the end credits started rolling. Polly started laughing and Veronica rolled her eyes.

“Well, it’s a good thing we have all seen it before.” Kevin said dryly

*****

This time when Betty woke up, she was not alone. She kept her eyes closed for a few moments, letting the sounds of her friend’s chatting wash over her. She became aware of fingers stroking her hair. Long, slightly cool fingers twisting her hair around them. Betty stirred slightly, and the hand stilled, then it brushed her hair back from her face and stroked her cheek gently.

“Betts?” Jughead asked, leaning close to her. She turned her face to look up at him.

“Hi” She gave him a smile. “How long did I sleep this time?”

“Just an hour or so”

“You missed the episode where Dwight shoots a gun in the Office” Kevin piped up, notice that Betty was awake. Betty sat up and ran a hand through her tangled hair.

“Aw man, I love that episode” She gave a fake pout.

“Hey, how about we get you home so you can get some rest?” Jughead said. Betty turned her attention to him and saw him looking at her in concern.

“I just got plenty of rest” Betty huffed “I want to spend some actual time with you guys”

“But...” Jughead started to argue but she put a hand on his cheek to quiet him.

“A couple more episodes, then you can walk me home.” Betty said softly to appease him.

“Fine” he said with a sigh, knowing it was no use arguing. Betty gave him a bright smile as her stomach growled.

“I’m hungry” She stated the obvious

“My dad’s on his way home, he’s bringing pizza.” Archie said with a laugh.

“I love that man” Jughead said emphatically. Betty smiled at his passion for food and snuggled into his side. Jughead’s arm wrapped around her and he brought her closer, kissing the top of her head.

Betty didn’t pay much attention to the show, she was more content to look around at her amazing friends. It wasn’t often that they were all together like this, marathoning shows and eating food and just hanging out like normal teenagers.

She was incredibly lucky to have a support system like this around her. She didn’t know how she would be able to handle what was happening without them. Yes, they all had their own crappy lives, but at the end of the day, she knew that they would drop everything and come help her if she asked.

Especially, the beautiful boy sitting next to her. Betty looked up at him and found that he was already looking back at her. He gave her a small smile, dimples flashing, and leaned down to give her a soft kiss. No words were exchanged, but Betty knew that he had similar thoughts on his mind. They were both so amazingly blessed to have each other and no matter what, they would always be there for one another.


End file.
